At the End of the Road
Feb. 6th, 2021 05:33 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
hkellickI hope that this is the last post I ever write about Cub Scouts. It's sad that Cub Scouts has become stained with the drama of the last 15 months. Sad, but not surprising.
Characters in this Drama
Scouts
Robert (my son)
Chuckie
Lukas
Parents
Howard (me) - Outgoing Committee Chair
Kristen (my wife)
Chuck (Chuckie's dad) - Pack Treasurer
Mandy (Lukas's mom) - Den Leader
Other Adults
Kris - Cubmaster. Bully. Jerk. Have I mentioned we've been fighting for a long time?
Jess - The Troop's Committee Chair, my predecessor as Pack Committee Chair
Dave - The Troop's Scoutmaster
Warren - The Pack and Troop's Chartered Organization Rep, the church's representative
John - Our District Executive.
This is the kind of post that feels like it needs a cast of characters BECAUSE it was quite the debacle.
Before I get started, Crossover is the ceremony where Webelo II scouts, referred to as Arrows of Light, graduate or cross over from the pack to the troop. As part of this ceremony, the scouts typically get any last achievements they've earned, as well as arrows, signifying their path through the pack, and often a present from the pack, such as a plaque or a shadow box. TYPICALLY, it's done during Blue and Gold, which is late February.
This year, the Cubmaster sent around a schedule showing crossover in late March, with no explanation, and without talking to Mandy, who plotted a schedule of den meetings assuming that we'd be done in February, as we typically are. It was on everyone's mind when the Troop invited the AOLs to join them in late January for a scavenger hunt. Kristen, Mandy and Chuck all sat down and discussed how big a deal they thought pushing crossover was and what to do about it, if they felt it was a big deal. Jess ended up joining them and explaining how in March the troop has several activities that are meant to introduce the new scouts to the rest of the troop. The four sat down and decided Crossover SHOULD be February. Mandy would write an email explaining the reasons why Crossover should be in February and Jess would make sure those events happen in March. Mandy sent the email explaining why Crossover should be February and we waited.
Six days later, the Cubmaster responded, and the drama started. The email was nasty, bullying. Summarizing:
1. The Scouts MUST earn their award. He will not give them their award if they haven't earned it.
2. He will not allow us to change the advancement program to remove requirements (none of us were).
3. Using the Scout Law to suggest that the kids and the parents aren't trustworthy (as if this was all of the law).
4. Each Scout WILL Be tested by himself, in the presence of another, without us present, to determine if they know what he felt that graduating AOLs should know. Failure to pass his quiz will require punishment, in the form of remedial meetings.
5. And the piece de resistance. He would be remiss to suggest that the other option if we don't comply with his demands is that we quit, go to the troop, and not worry about them earning their arrows.
All of the parents responded, vigorously disagreeing with his email. Chuck specifically called him out on this completely unnecessary drama. Personally, speaking only for myself, of all the things he said, i found this idea of the test the most unacceptable. The idea of a test with punitive repercussions announced only a month before crossover seemed like a trap, a way to "prove" that the kids hadn't learned what he deemed that they learn. I was absolutely 100% against this test.
The Cubmaster's response was swift and continued to be unhelpful towards defusing a bad situation. He once again demanded this test, that he called a Cubmaster Conference, and stating it was necessary to prove that the AOLs were learning what he felt they needed to learn and suggesting that it was who were being dramatic, not him. But he made a tactical mistake. He declared that he had checked the whole thing through the District and suggested we take it to the next level. Which is precisely what happened.
Chuck responded by emailing Kris, including Dave and Jess from the Troop and John from the District to say he quit as treasurer, that Kris, who has spent no time with our boys, has no concept about how much anxiety the idea of this test gave the boys and to tell District exactly why this drama is occurring and exactly why he quit as Treasurer.
At that point in time, now that District was involved, I made a call to Warren. Because if District was involved he needed to be in the loop. Warren absolutely agreed that Crossover SHOULD be in February and also agreed that the Cub Scout program, such as it is, should be followed without any additions (I'm talking about this test). I STRONGLY suggested to Warren that he fire Kris, immediately. Warren indicated being open to firing the guy, but noted that with Kris gone, he isn't sure who would be Cubmaster. So, Warren thought on it overnight and emailed Kris with a demand: Email Mandy, Chuck and I, tell us that crossover is in February and he will be there in a supportive capacity to say nice things about the boys, or there will be a meeting to "change pack responsibilities". I'm not sure of the specifics of what that means, but I get the general gist. Warren asked me a couple of times if Kris ever emailed. He never did.
That night, the night of Warren's demand, I was putzing around Scoutbook when I realized something. Despite the fact that I could see what percentage complete Lukas and Chucky were two days ago, I could no longer see anyone but Robert. All of my connections to the rest of the pack, which I'd just had.. were gone. Worse than that, the same was true for Chuck and for Mandy, who no longer even showed up as a Den Leader. I assume Kris, because no one else makes sense, responded by making it impossible for any of us to advance our scouts without going through another leader. I immediately let Warren know. It took Warren a bit to understand how that happened, because this is not power he would have had on paper. That would have, in the pre-Scoutbook days, been done by the Advancement Chair, or someone else on the committee. In the Scoutbook days, all pack administrative types, including Cubmaster, has revision access over all adults and kids.
That day, Thursday, I found out Warren would come to the meeting to have a word. I also found out that John would be there. We had intended to go back and meet in person anyways, so that the AOLs could practice their knots, something that's a lot easier to do in person. We sat there for a little over an hour and no one ever talked to us. But apparently John DID come and Warren DID come and they sat down and talked to Warren for 90 minutes. I have no idea what was said. I know I didn't actually want to be part of that conversation anyway. It was definitely better that Mandy, Chuck, Kristen and I got to work with our boys and just work on tying knots and fusing rope ends, all part of the actual things that an AOL needs to crossover.
The next day, Mandy sent out an email from Kris. His opening statement says it all: "In an unforeseen twist of fate, I have been put in charge of..." crossover on February 25th. So assumedly, the drama is done.
We didn't start this drama. We didn't end this drama. And I don't actually believe this drama happened because of us. If this had been about us, even a bit, one or more of us would have been in that room with Warren and John and Kris. He thought he should be able to make a decision, with no reason other than he simply wanted to do it. He never checked with the troop, nor Mandy. He just made it and then failed to understand that while he thought he was entrenching himself, he was actually digging a hole big enough to fall into.
Meanwhile, I can't speak for anyone else.. but Mandy, Chuck and I are pissed at him, the Troop isn't thrilled with him and whatever happened, even Warren acknowledged that he was divisive.
Crossover is in two and a half weeks. After that, I may be in the same building as the Cubmaster, but I can't precisely see us interacting in any capacity, at least until his son joins the troop, two years in the future. Two years is a long time. I can't begin to imagine what those two years will bring for Robert, or Lukas or Chuckie. Or his parents.
Hopefully this is the last post I write with my son a Cub Scout.
Characters in this Drama
Scouts
Robert (my son)
Chuckie
Lukas
Parents
Howard (me) - Outgoing Committee Chair
Kristen (my wife)
Chuck (Chuckie's dad) - Pack Treasurer
Mandy (Lukas's mom) - Den Leader
Other Adults
Kris - Cubmaster. Bully. Jerk. Have I mentioned we've been fighting for a long time?
Jess - The Troop's Committee Chair, my predecessor as Pack Committee Chair
Dave - The Troop's Scoutmaster
Warren - The Pack and Troop's Chartered Organization Rep, the church's representative
John - Our District Executive.
This is the kind of post that feels like it needs a cast of characters BECAUSE it was quite the debacle.
Before I get started, Crossover is the ceremony where Webelo II scouts, referred to as Arrows of Light, graduate or cross over from the pack to the troop. As part of this ceremony, the scouts typically get any last achievements they've earned, as well as arrows, signifying their path through the pack, and often a present from the pack, such as a plaque or a shadow box. TYPICALLY, it's done during Blue and Gold, which is late February.
This year, the Cubmaster sent around a schedule showing crossover in late March, with no explanation, and without talking to Mandy, who plotted a schedule of den meetings assuming that we'd be done in February, as we typically are. It was on everyone's mind when the Troop invited the AOLs to join them in late January for a scavenger hunt. Kristen, Mandy and Chuck all sat down and discussed how big a deal they thought pushing crossover was and what to do about it, if they felt it was a big deal. Jess ended up joining them and explaining how in March the troop has several activities that are meant to introduce the new scouts to the rest of the troop. The four sat down and decided Crossover SHOULD be February. Mandy would write an email explaining the reasons why Crossover should be in February and Jess would make sure those events happen in March. Mandy sent the email explaining why Crossover should be February and we waited.
Six days later, the Cubmaster responded, and the drama started. The email was nasty, bullying. Summarizing:
1. The Scouts MUST earn their award. He will not give them their award if they haven't earned it.
2. He will not allow us to change the advancement program to remove requirements (none of us were).
3. Using the Scout Law to suggest that the kids and the parents aren't trustworthy (as if this was all of the law).
4. Each Scout WILL Be tested by himself, in the presence of another, without us present, to determine if they know what he felt that graduating AOLs should know. Failure to pass his quiz will require punishment, in the form of remedial meetings.
5. And the piece de resistance. He would be remiss to suggest that the other option if we don't comply with his demands is that we quit, go to the troop, and not worry about them earning their arrows.
All of the parents responded, vigorously disagreeing with his email. Chuck specifically called him out on this completely unnecessary drama. Personally, speaking only for myself, of all the things he said, i found this idea of the test the most unacceptable. The idea of a test with punitive repercussions announced only a month before crossover seemed like a trap, a way to "prove" that the kids hadn't learned what he deemed that they learn. I was absolutely 100% against this test.
The Cubmaster's response was swift and continued to be unhelpful towards defusing a bad situation. He once again demanded this test, that he called a Cubmaster Conference, and stating it was necessary to prove that the AOLs were learning what he felt they needed to learn and suggesting that it was who were being dramatic, not him. But he made a tactical mistake. He declared that he had checked the whole thing through the District and suggested we take it to the next level. Which is precisely what happened.
Chuck responded by emailing Kris, including Dave and Jess from the Troop and John from the District to say he quit as treasurer, that Kris, who has spent no time with our boys, has no concept about how much anxiety the idea of this test gave the boys and to tell District exactly why this drama is occurring and exactly why he quit as Treasurer.
At that point in time, now that District was involved, I made a call to Warren. Because if District was involved he needed to be in the loop. Warren absolutely agreed that Crossover SHOULD be in February and also agreed that the Cub Scout program, such as it is, should be followed without any additions (I'm talking about this test). I STRONGLY suggested to Warren that he fire Kris, immediately. Warren indicated being open to firing the guy, but noted that with Kris gone, he isn't sure who would be Cubmaster. So, Warren thought on it overnight and emailed Kris with a demand: Email Mandy, Chuck and I, tell us that crossover is in February and he will be there in a supportive capacity to say nice things about the boys, or there will be a meeting to "change pack responsibilities". I'm not sure of the specifics of what that means, but I get the general gist. Warren asked me a couple of times if Kris ever emailed. He never did.
That night, the night of Warren's demand, I was putzing around Scoutbook when I realized something. Despite the fact that I could see what percentage complete Lukas and Chucky were two days ago, I could no longer see anyone but Robert. All of my connections to the rest of the pack, which I'd just had.. were gone. Worse than that, the same was true for Chuck and for Mandy, who no longer even showed up as a Den Leader. I assume Kris, because no one else makes sense, responded by making it impossible for any of us to advance our scouts without going through another leader. I immediately let Warren know. It took Warren a bit to understand how that happened, because this is not power he would have had on paper. That would have, in the pre-Scoutbook days, been done by the Advancement Chair, or someone else on the committee. In the Scoutbook days, all pack administrative types, including Cubmaster, has revision access over all adults and kids.
That day, Thursday, I found out Warren would come to the meeting to have a word. I also found out that John would be there. We had intended to go back and meet in person anyways, so that the AOLs could practice their knots, something that's a lot easier to do in person. We sat there for a little over an hour and no one ever talked to us. But apparently John DID come and Warren DID come and they sat down and talked to Warren for 90 minutes. I have no idea what was said. I know I didn't actually want to be part of that conversation anyway. It was definitely better that Mandy, Chuck, Kristen and I got to work with our boys and just work on tying knots and fusing rope ends, all part of the actual things that an AOL needs to crossover.
The next day, Mandy sent out an email from Kris. His opening statement says it all: "In an unforeseen twist of fate, I have been put in charge of..." crossover on February 25th. So assumedly, the drama is done.
We didn't start this drama. We didn't end this drama. And I don't actually believe this drama happened because of us. If this had been about us, even a bit, one or more of us would have been in that room with Warren and John and Kris. He thought he should be able to make a decision, with no reason other than he simply wanted to do it. He never checked with the troop, nor Mandy. He just made it and then failed to understand that while he thought he was entrenching himself, he was actually digging a hole big enough to fall into.
Meanwhile, I can't speak for anyone else.. but Mandy, Chuck and I are pissed at him, the Troop isn't thrilled with him and whatever happened, even Warren acknowledged that he was divisive.
Crossover is in two and a half weeks. After that, I may be in the same building as the Cubmaster, but I can't precisely see us interacting in any capacity, at least until his son joins the troop, two years in the future. Two years is a long time. I can't begin to imagine what those two years will bring for Robert, or Lukas or Chuckie. Or his parents.
Hopefully this is the last post I write with my son a Cub Scout.
